Molecular Dissipative Structuring; The Fundamental Creative Force in Biology

The spontaneous emergence of macroscopic dissipative structures in systems driven by generalized chemical potentials is well-established in non-equilibrium thermodynamics. Some examples are, hurricanes, Bénard cells, reaction-diffusion patterns, and atmospheric/oceanic currents. Less recognized, however, are microscopic dissipative structures that form when the driving potential excites internal molecular degrees of freedom (electronic states and nuclear coordinates), typically via high-energy photons. The thermodynamic dissipation theory for the origin of life posits that the core biomolecules of all three domains of life originated as self-organized molecular dissipative structures—chromophores or pigments—that proliferated across the Archean ocean surface to absorb and dissipate the intense “soft” UV-C (205–280 nm) and UV-B (280–315 nm) solar flux into heat. Thermodynamic coupling to ancillary antenna and surface-anchoring molecules subsequently increased photon dissipation and enabled more complex dissipative processes, including modern photosynthesis, to dissipate lower-energy but higher-flux UV-A and visible light. Further thermodynamic coupling to abiotic geophysical cycles (e.g., diurnal, water cycles, winds, and ocean currents) ultimately produced today’s biosphere, efficiently dissipating the full incident solar spectrum well into the infrared. This paper details three examples of molecular dissipative structuring (nucleotides, fatty acids, pigments) and argues that dissipative structuring, rather than natural selection, is the fundamental creative force in biology at all levels of hierarchy.